1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of hand saws and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a multi-purpose hand saw having a working mode and a collapsed storage mode capable of storing a plurality of saw blades for cutting wood, meat and metal.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Collapsible hand saws have heretofore been known as desirable equipment for hunters, campers and the like. Several such collapsible saws have heretofore been proposed by the prior art. Typical of such prior art devices are those disclosed in Swenson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,149,652, and Bradley, U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,409.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,149,652, discloses a collapsible saw comprising a hollow back bar, a tubular handle and a saw blade. The hollow back bar is provided with a longitudinal extending slot which extends the length thereof; and the tubular handle is provided with a transverse opening at its upper end for snuggly receiving one end of the back bar when the saw is in the assembled position. One end of the saw blade is pivotally connected to the distal end of the back bar via a pivot pin, and the other end of the saw blade is pivotally connected to the handle via a threaded handle pin and a pivot pin. The interconnection of the back bar, the handle and the saw blade is such that in the assembled position the handle becomes slightly canted with relation to the back bar, thus securely binding the back bar and tightening the saw blade for sawing use. In the collapsed mode, the saw blade is passed through the longitudinally extending slot of the back bar so as to be received in the hollow of the back bar, which in turn is inserted into the hollow of a handle and secured thereto with the handle pin extensive through pressed-together ends of the handle and a wing nut.
Bradley, U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,409, teaches a collapsible hand saw which comprises a saw blade, a brace bar, a handle, and a threaded stud. In the utility mode, a dog assembly, supported on one end of the saw blade, hooks over the outer end of the brace bar. The threaded stud is pivotally attached to the other end of the saw blade via a pin and the stud extends through a pair of axially aligned holes in the handle for attaching the other end of the saw blade to the handle as illustrated in FIG. 2 of the reference. In the collapsed mode, the saw blade is maintained in a recess of the I-beam brace bar which is partially received in the hollow of the handle and retained therein via a wing nut and the dog assembly which is only partially receivable in the recess of the I-beam brace bar.